Core Truths

Anyone who knows me well, knows I am all about purging. I’m no minimalist (yet), but ever since The Great Purge of a few years ago, I have seen the life-changing value of going through our belongings and decluttering. In terms of fully decluttering our home, we are nowhere close to that being the case. But we do go through clothes, toys, books, etc. on a somewhat regular basis. One of the major areas where I still have a lot of work to do is “sentimental” items. I have tubs upon tubs upon tubs of “sentimental” storage. There are tubs stacked up in the garage, there are tubs pushed underneath my bed, and there are tubs in probably every single closet in this house. Tubs of stuff that at one point or another was deemed too special to part with. And typically, these tubs of stuff really aren’t in anyone’s way and they are rarely thought of. That is, until last week when I needed some space. With all of this social distancing, our own personal worlds have been turned upside d...

A few years ago we made a big decision to buy new living room furniture. It would be the first time for us to buy new furniture since the nearly 12 years before when we had bought our last set. We went back and forth on what to buy—sectional or separate pieces—and we tried hard to envision the needs of our family as the kids were now much bigger and there were more than there were before. We needed to make sure that parents and all of our five kids had a place to sit when watching TV or just hanging out as a family. We finally settled on a traditional 3-piece set with the sofa, loveseat, and chair, and it has served us well. This is where we hangout and tell each other about our days, this is where we snuggle with the little ones before we tuck them in, this is where we stay up late watching movies with the big kids. Lately, this has been where we gather to share news and updates, and this is where we are napping during our extended time at home. But today, this is where we di...

Today I have seen so many things. I have read articles, I have watched press conferences, I have been shown facts and figures. There are bans and warnings, there are closures and cancellations. Life as we know it is gradually coming to a screeching halt. And that’s a lot to see. Today, I went to the grocery store where I was met by an already packed lot and a line to get in that spanned the length of the shopping center. Somewhat reluctantly, I parked and took my place to wait. The store was allowing people in, ten at a time, as other shoppers would leave. I was there waiting my turn. I saw the people on their phones, I saw them with lists and reusable shopping bags. I watched as people drove into the lot and joined us. I took note of the young man counting people leaving and letting us know when it was our turn to go in. And we waited. Waited in line to get groceries. Finally, I was getting close to the front. I had been waiting for over 30 minutes and I knew it would be my t...

Thank you, Paula Abdul, for giving us the iconic song and the reminder, with the so-cool-at-the-time animated cat, that opposites attract (I bet you are singing that song in your head now—and if you’re not, then you’re probably much younger than I am and it’s worth googling). And just like Paula Abdul and the cartoon cat, my husband and I are in some ways total opposites! Some of the ways are cute…like he was a science teacher and I was an English teacher. He keeps up on current events and I watch movies or have my nose stuck in a book (this could not be any truer right now). He focuses on tiny little details and I see the big picture. He can recall dates, times, places, and people and I can tell you how something made me feel and not remember one single other detail! Other ways, well, aren’t so cute. Like the day I sat in the car with three sweaty rowdy kids in the Wal-Mart parking lot. It was the day before Easter (look at that, I remembered a detail!). The weekend b...